Video games, social networks, chat rooms, may help prevent HIV

Date:

June 23, 2014

Source:

Columbia University School of Nursing

Summary:

While many HIV prevention interventions have traditionally been delivered face-to-face, a study suggests that digital outreach efforts delivered via text messages, interactive games, chat rooms, and social networks may be an effective way to reach at-risk younger men who have sex with men. "This is a population that is very used to technology, and there is built-in privacy and immediacy with digital communication that may be especially appealing," says the lead study author. "If we want to reduce HIV infection rates, particularly among younger men, we need to explore the use of technology to meet them where they live -- online and on their phones."

Share:

Total shares:

FULL STORY

While many HIV prevention interventions have traditionally been delivered face-to-face, a study from Columbia University School of Nursing suggests that digital outreach efforts delivered via text messages, interactive games, chat rooms, and social networks may be an effective way to reach at-risk younger men. The research review, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, found that eHealth interventions are associated with reductions in risky sexual behaviors and increases in HIV testing among men who have sex with men.

Despite decades of outreach and education efforts that have stabilized human immunodeficiency (HIV) infection rates in the U.S., the pace of new infections among men who have sex with men has been steadily increasing, particularly among young adults and racial and ethnic minorities.

"This is a population that is very used to technology, and there is built-in privacy and immediacy with digital communication that may be especially appealing to men who aren't comfortable disclosing their sexual orientation or their HIV status in a face-to-face encounter," says lead study author Rebecca Schnall, PhD, RN, an assistant professor at Columbia Nursing. "If we want to reduce HIV infection rates, particularly among younger men, we need to explore the use of technology to meet them where they live -- online and on their phones."

A team of researchers led by Schnall conducted a systematic literature review to determine the effectiveness of eHealth interventions for HIV prevention among men who have sex with men. Included studies had to be focused exclusively on eHealth, limited to HIV prevention and testing rather than treatment, targeted only to adult men who have sex with men, written in English, designed as experimental or randomized controlled trials, and published between January 2000 and April.

One interactive website, Sexpulse, designed by health professionals and computer scientists to target men who seek sexual partners online, successfully reduced high-risk sexual behaviors. Another site, Keep It Up! (KIU), used video games to help reduce rates of unprotected anal sex. A third initiative, a downloadable video game, helped mitigate shame felt by some young men who have sex with men, though the reduction in risky sexual behavior wasn't statistically significant.

Chat rooms may also help prevent HIV, the study found. When a sexual health expert entered a popular chat room to regularly post information about HIV testing and respond to instant messages seeking information on HIV, self-reported HIV testing among participants in the chat room significantly increased.

On social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, popular individuals can spread HIV-prevention messages to their friends and followers. The sharing of information about HIV testing via trusted sources on a social network appeared to increase requests for HIV testing kits, one study found. Another study found that using opinion leaders to disseminate HIV-prevention information via social networks may increase testing rates and bolster condom use during anal sex with partners found online.

"Taken together, the findings from all of these relatively small studies demonstrate the enormous potential of eHealth as a tool to prevent HIV," says Schnall. The task is urgent, she adds. Although men who have sex with men represent about 7 percent of the male population in the U.S., they account for about 78 percent of new HIV infections among males, reinforcing the need for new approaches to prevention. "What we now have is a road map to follow for larger, longer trials that may definitely confirm the effectiveness of eHealth in fighting the spread of HIV."

Columbia University School of Nursing. "Video games, social networks, chat rooms, may help prevent HIV." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 23 June 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140623091830.htm>.

Columbia University School of Nursing. (2014, June 23). Video games, social networks, chat rooms, may help prevent HIV. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 2, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140623091830.htm

Columbia University School of Nursing. "Video games, social networks, chat rooms, may help prevent HIV." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140623091830.htm (accessed August 2, 2015).

July 31, 2015  School is just around the corner, which means backpacks and packed lunches await your children. One expert offers tips for parents to promote healthy dental habits while away from ... read more

July 29, 2015  By blocking the expression of a certain gene in patients, researchers have contributed to the demonstration of great decreases in the concentration of triglycerides in their ... read more

July 29, 2015  Viewing aquarium displays led to noticeable reductions in blood pressure and heart rate, a research team found in the first study of its kind. They also noted that higher numbers of fish helped to ... read more

Dec. 3, 2013  A study has found that men ages 40-69 who are having sex with other men, are HIV-infected and smoke are at a much higher risk of HPVs that most often cause anal cancer. This is the first large US ... read more

Nov. 6, 2013  The number of HIV positive men who have sex with both men and women is likely no higher than the number of HIV positive heterosexual men, according to a US-based analysis. The finding challenges a ... read more

July 26, 2012  The rate of new HIV infections among black men who have sex with men in the United States, particularly younger men, is high and suggests the need for prevention programs specifically tailored to ... read more

Dec. 6, 2010  Tapping into young people’s use of online social networks presents health agencies with a powerful opportunity to help control the rise in HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in homeless ... read more